PINCONNING — A week after returning from Lansing, Pinconning Area Schools officials are buckling down for what could be a tricky road away from the state's "Persistently Low Achieving" list.

Pinconning Area Schools Superintendent Michael Vieau

Superintendent Michael Vieau said that officials with the Michigan Department of Education have recommended adding 200 to 300 hours of instructional time for students in the Pinconning Middle School for the 2012-2013 school year.

"It is considerable," Vieau said. "We're going to have to be creative to achieve that."

Part of the challenge to adding the hours will be determining how those hours will be spent, he added.

"Our initial understanding was that it had to be in core classes, but
our consultant pointed out that it can also be in extracurriculars and
the time that teachers can collaborate," Vieau said.

Vieau said they are looking to create a subcommittee that will focus solely on how to increase instructional time, with members representing the Pinconning Area Schools teachers union and parents, as well as administrative staff.

The district is trying to recruit parental involvement in the process. Mark Fuhrman, principal at Pinconning Middle School, said that he plans to hold an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 24 — an hour before the next regularly scheduled board meeting — to answer any questions that parents may have about the PLA list and the district's strategy to get off of it.

Beyond that, the district is open to suggestions for how to cultivate parental involvement, Vieau said.

Anyone with suggestions or interested in taking part in the subcommittee can contact Vieau at vieaum@pasd.org or Fuhrman at fuhrmanm@pasd.org, or call the district office at 989-879-4556.